CATIA for Engineers enables Digital Prototyping including Analysis and Simulation for design and validation of function quality and performance at all stages ofthe design.

Mechanical engineering is complex as assemblies are designed to perform a specific task with a specific target performance. Digital prototyping, combined with digital analysis and simulation, allows product development teams to virtually create and analyze a mechanical product in its environment. Mechanical engineers must be equipped with these tools so that they can gain insight into key factors in quality and performance early in the product development phase.

CATIA Mechanical Surface Design

The use of conventional CAD systems can add confusion to design modifications as well as complicate the collaboration process between designers. This can delay product development unless you use a comprehensive solution that allows users to collaborate easily, as well as create and verify the quality of shapes.

CATIA Mechanical Surface Design provides a unique and powerful spec-driven modeling approach for the creation of high-end mechanical shapes, as well as intuitive manipulation of free form surfaces. This standard solution for high quality surface modeling promotes efficient, concurrent engineering between styling and shape design so that the product design workflow is optimized.

Capture and re-use design methodologies and specifications with a productive and intuitive design environment

Use with ease

Smart feature-based approach for all types of wireframes and surfaces

These include wireframe elements (point, line, plane, circle, spline, parallel curves, corner on plane, connect 3D, spiral, helix, conics, etc.) and also include standard and advanced surface features (extrude, revolute, swept surfaces). Both standard and advanced combinations of elements can be used in associative transformation, including symmetry, scaling, translation, affinity, extrapolation and fillet.

Associative design

The wireframes and surfaces can be designed using the part or assembly context. Design in context allows concurrent work with user control of associativity. Thanks to the powerful associativity mechanism, any required design change is easily controlled and rapidly propagated at any time for easy shape design optimization.

Operations and productivity tools

A suite of powerful modifying features is available and can be applied on curves and surfaces (intersection, projection, offset - including variable and rough, and many kinds of fillets and chamfers, etc.). Users are provided with high productivity help such as repeat options and quick multi-creation mechanisms.

Tolerant modeler

The CATIA geometrical modeler is able to manage operations on curves and surfaces even those with small geometrical gaps (max = 0.1 mm). The smoothing capabilities and the tolerant lay down options make designers able to perform their usual tasks and continue a normal work flow, while compensating the gaps and achieving high-end quality surfaces.

Knowledge template creation and reuse for automation of design tasks

Knowledgeware and law functionalities natively included in CATIA Mechanical Surface Design bring the user best in class tools to create complex and smart surfaces faster. Also, it enables the reuse of the same surface geometry in multiple instances, allowing concurrent engineering to take place. It can reuse a surface geometry linked to an existing surface providing master model design methodologies.

Quickly and easily unfolds ruled and non-ruled surfaces and develops curves on revolution surfaces. It allows flattening ruled and non-ruled surfaces such as cylinders, continuous point blend, and sweeping segment. The user is then able to verify the mathematical surface of a shape. Once the surface is flat, it is easier to manage bulk calculations, raw material cost calculation, and manufacturability calculation. Design engineers, both non-surface specialists and advanced-shape designers, can define an associative flattened pattern from their 3D models for manufacturing from flat sheets of raw materials.

Suite of comprehensive and easy to use surfacing modeling tools

Unifies all types of free-form curves and surfaces in a single math-free representation. It provides surface-based tools to help designers create styled shapes and surfaces, enabling even casual users to easily smooth and trim curves and surfaces. Designers can create flawless, styled shapes from scratch, in order to model three-dimensional free-form curves and surfaces. The system can blend and extrude curves, fill, and blend or match surfaces.